The present invention relates to an RF receiving coil apparatus and a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system is known as a system able to form a tomographic image of a subject by utilizing a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) phenomenon. In many cases the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus is utilized in medical and industrial fields.
For forming a tomographic image of a subject by using a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, first the subject is placed within a radiographing space with a static magnetic field formed therein and then the direction of spin in proton within the subject is aligned with the direction of the static magnetic field to create a state of having obtained a magnetization vector. Thereafter, an electromagnetic wave having a resonance frequency is emitted from an RF coil, whereby a nuclear magnetic resonance phenomenon is generated to change the magnetization vector of proton. Then, the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus receives in the RF coil a magnetic resonance signal from proton which returns to the original magnetization vector, and forms a tomographic image of the subject in accordance with the received magnetic resonance signal.
In magnetic resonance imaging, MR mammography is utilized for early-stage detection and treatment of a cancer of the breast. In the MR mammography, a subject assumes a prone position so that his or her breast is received in an RF coil, and then scanning of the breast is carried out (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2004-41729
Thus, in MR mammography, since the scanning is carried out in a prone position of the subject, breathing may be difficult or arms may become numbed, resulting in that the subject cannot retain the prone position for a long time, thus making it difficult to improve the working efficiency in radiographing.
Generally, when a subject undergoes an operation on his or her breast, the subject is brought into a supine position, and thus the posture of the subject differs between during scan and during operation. Consequently, when observing a pre-radiographed breast image in an operation of a breast, there sometimes occurs a case where it is difficult to easily specify an operation site, thus making it difficult to improve the working efficiency in the operation.